Telescoping tower



F. c. ST EIDLE, TELESCOPING TOWER. APPLICATION HLED APR-24.15MB.

Patented Dec; 16, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- F. c. STEIDLL TELESCOPING TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24. I918.

LQL Q-5 Q53D Patented 1190. 16,1919

. I 4 SHEETS -SHEET Z- p F. c. STEIDLE. TELESCOPING TOWER. APPHCATIONFILED APR. 24. 1918. 0

Patented Dec 16,1919.

7m 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED C. STEIDLE, OF MILAN, MICHIGAN.

TELESCOPIN G TOWER.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, FRED C. STEIDLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milan, in the county of Washtenaw and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telescop ingTowers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in extension towers or masts, andit consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereindescribed and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a telescopic mast or tower whichis operated by pneumatic means, and in which the varioussections' areraised,- beginning with the bottom section-and ending with the top.

A further object of my invention is to provide an extension mast inwhich the various sections arerendered water tight in both extended ortelescoped position, so that the mast may be used in connection with asubmarine for wireless signaling as well as in connection with militaryautomobiles for signal work, such as a look-out tower.

' A further object of my invention is to provide novel means includingaspecial form of plunger valve for each section, whereby the sections areelevated in succession and may be lowered in the same order; that is tosay, the lower section is lowered first and then the succeedingsections, to the top.

Other objects of my invention will appear in the following specificationand the novel features of theinvention will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form apart of this application and in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the mast in its extended position, asapplied to a sub marine, portions of the latter being shown in section;

-Fig. 2 is a sectional detailed view of a. portion of the lower part ofthe mast;

Fig. 3 is a detailed section of a portion of the upper part of the mastwhen the latter is in its collapsed position;

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4 4" of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5"-5" of Fig. 2';

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a portion of the mast s owing thelower ends of the sections when the mast is collapsed;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Application filed April 24, 1918. Serial No. 230,435.

purpose. In thedrawings it is shown for submarine use. The main deck ofthe submarine is shown at 1, the packing between the base of the towerand the deck at 1", and the superstructure at 2. Secured to the deck lisa base portion having a bottom 3 and integral cylindrical walls 4. Atthe upper end of the walls 4 is an integral reduced portion 5 which isthreaded at 6 as shown in the drawings. Disposed within the walls 4 andcontiguous thereto is areinforcing rin 7. Between the upper end of thereinforcing ring and the shoulder 6", formed by the reduced portion 6,is a plate 8, this plate being dish-shaped as shown in the drawing andforming a partition between the base portion and the bottom section ofthe mast. A resilient gasket 9 is disposed between the edges of theplate 8 and the shoulder 6".

Arranged to pass through the basev 3 is an air or steam inlet pipe 10.This pipe is threaded into the plate 8, as shown in the drawings, and isprovided with a control valve 11 and also with a check valve 12. Thelower end of the pipe 10 is designed to communicate with a suitablesource of compressed air or steam (not shown). A second pipe 13 is alsothreaded into the plate 8 and passes through the base 3. This pipe isprovided with a control valve 14 and with a pressure gage 15. Adjustablepacking glands l0 and 13 are provided for the pipes 10 and 13,respectivel Extending through the walls 4 of the support and through thereinforcing ring 7 is a shaft 16 which bears at each end a reel 17. Thisshaft is also provided with packing glands 18 so as to make the device,water 24 1and forining a cone clutch member. will be obviousthat whenthe handle 21 1S turned the :clutch member 24 is rotated.

Cod eratin with the clutch member. 24 is a shdable c utch' member 26which is frustum shaped and which is slidable along'the shaft 16.i Theshaft- 16 is slottedas shown the slot-27 and which .thus permitslongituwhile it provides rotary movement of'the shaft' 16 -when theclutch member 26 is turned. In Fig. 7 it will be seen that the hi 1 b oftheclutch member 26 isprovided with a groove-29 in which isdisposedayoke preferably ot a cy 3 recess.33-.intojwhic u gasket 34"This gaslre -to-extend beyond'the'upper end f 35 tengainsttheunderFs'ide of l the-ring,

at the end of the 'bellcrank lever 30 which has an .operatinghandle orrod 30",", When the-latter pulled downwardly theclutch member 2653rought into operative engageto-the shaft 16':t o rotate'therew ith meansof keys 17" or in any-other suitablemanner. Screwedtowheth' "dd'rtio'n'6 ofthe base is th'el botto' a as; to rsserowir; at a l tter, itwill obsplrlv drical-member'3l and to the la On opposite sides hf therin'are disposed Each ofthe'telescopid sectionsisiprovided with; a plungervalve. A{ description of one of these plunger valves will s'uflice forall sincethey are piecisely the same 'in construc- 37 threaded at 37"-to receivethe adjacent upper section 38. The reduced portion 37 or anysuitableidevicew slide freely on the interior of the cylinder 3.1, butin order that there should be -no leakage of air. I provide the rings46. As manyvrings may be provided as are necessary to form an air tightplunger, the number depending upon the size of the parts.

-Openi n'gs 474 are; provided which pass;

through the ring or cap 32 and through the gasket 34, the purpose ofthese openings bemg to permit'the air which is between the sections of.the tower, .to escape as the plunger is movmg upward and thus allowsnection that Fig. 2 showstheiplunger in its uppermost "position. I

Referring now; to ,Figs. 3 and-6, it \villbe seen that. the varioussections of the mast I "may be collapsed or telesc0ped.= The rin s mentwith the clutch memberflii thus transinitting the movement of the wormgear 24 to the shaft 16;""f1he ,pulieysl'f areifsecured- 32 which areassociated with the upper en s [of the cylinders such as those shown at38,

48 and 49,. are provided ,with flanges 32- for their -respectivecylinders'and which when thecg glev s collapsed, overl e the air 6, theplunger of, thegcylinder bears" the cylinder 38. aejplu'nger of thecylinder 38 bca'rs'the cyltieln ast pr tower, but it 'willb e derstoothatgas inany as'are necessary lnight lbej used-, ivithout departing.fronfthe spirit or. the'scopeof the invention. "It'a'vill i beseen'thatthe plunger secured to'thc bot- .tom of the or top section ;isjust a straight plunger without a valve, "as no air -is-to pass at anytime. The uppermost cyl inder section which in the present instance isthe scction'49 may bear a platform, or aerials Referring mow -to Fig.*1,

cured to theeye-bolts 35 of i thtr uppermost mast section 49. Fromthence they pass do\\ -'n\vardly through the eye-bolts 35 to the has anintegral top 39 whichis PrOVided- SectiOH 48.and through the eye-boltsof the with a conical valveseat- 40. "The top 39 is provided withdownwardly extending sleeve or socket 4L- A valve 42 of conical shape issecured at the endof a bolt 43,- the bolt being threaded into the valveso as to turn freely with respect thereto when desired.

The socket 41 is provided with an integral other sections pulling. onastraight line or each section. being drawn directly into the 48;and'soon. Ind-he drawings I have" four. oithese cylmdeis, forming, four4 l ave shown therein PlllhWll'eS 51, these,\ res being seone below it,being secured to the reels '17,

said Y wires being adjusted to the proper lengthto be fully taken upwhen the tower is extended. Other guy-wires such as those shown at 52(seeFig. 1), may also be used and these wires are preferably wound onspring drun'ls' such as that shown at 53, Fig. 1, these drums beingcarried by anysuitablc support such as the deck of the submarine and.placed in the various-positions or directions in whichthe wlre is drawn.

Fronrthe foregoing description of the various parts of the device theoperation thereof-may befreadily understood. We will as- Leas es sumethat the tower or mast is collapsed. he various sect ons will then be inthe posltion shown in Figs. and 6. In Fig. 6 1t will be seen that thevalves 4:2 otthe various automatically ting the air within the sectionsare open. '.lhe valve ofthe section 31 rests on the plate 8 while thesucceeding valves are held in'open position by their contact with thevalve stems beneath them.

When it is desired to elevate the tower or mast, the valve 11 is openedand the compressed air or steam is admitted thrimghthe pipe 10 directlyinto the interior of the plunger valve 56, and the free flow of airpressure through the large inlet pipe 10 causes the plunger. 36 to rise.The instant this plunger is moved, its valve =12 will be,

closed because the spring has been adjusted at such tension that it willclose. Th plunger valve moves upwardly until the shoulder on the plungeris backing ring or gasket 3 4, making the first or lower point airtight/ When this occurs the, air pressure becomes great enough to forceopen valve so to admit air past the valve to raise the plunger valve inthe next section 38. In the'same manner the succeeding sections areextended one'at a time. The air in the space between two adjacentsections, for instance, the sections 31 and 38, escapes through the ventholes 47 as the plunger valve 36 is carried upward and this prevents theformation of an air cushion and allows the plunger valve to seatproperly as shown. In the meantimethe pull wires 51 have been playingout, due to the fact that the reels 17 are free to move, the clutchbeing disengaged when tension is exerted on the cables. The guy wires 52unwind from the spring drums 53.

lVhen the mast or tower has been extendcd so that there is no furthermovement the fact will be indicated by'a rise ol pressure in thepressure gage so that the control valve 11 may be turned to preventfurther on trance of air.

In collapsing the tower. the valve 14 is opened and the weight of themast causes the latter to move the plunger of the cylinder 31 downwardlyas fast as the air escapes. This, of course,can be regulated. \Vhen thecylinder 38 has reached its lowermost position then the valve 42 of thecylinder 31'will have engaged the plate 8,- (see Fig. 6), thus openingthe valve and permitcylinder 38 to escape past the valve. The plunger ofthe cylinder 38 will now begin to move downwardly and will carry with itthose sections which are supported by it. When it reaches its lowermostposition the end of the valve stem c. the head otthe bolt will engagethe stem of the valve immediately below it and will force the valve toopen so as to permit the air to pass out from the interior of thenextupper section. Thus the action continues seated tightly against theother sections for until all of the sections have been collapsed in themanner shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

While the sections are being collapsed, the guy wires 52 are being woundup by means of the spring drums 53 and the cables 51 are being re-woundon the reels 1'? by the use of the worm drive and the clutchsoi'i theshaft 16.. When the valve 14 is opened to allow air to pass from thetower, the rod 302 is pulled downwardly which shifts the clutch member26 into engagement with the clutch member 24, so that when the shaft 16is revolved by means of the worm gearing the tower. sections will bepositively collapsed. The power for propelling the shaft 16 to rewindthe pull cables 51 may be hand power or any other suitable means on thesubmarine. By means of the clutch any suitable power can be used with nodanger of breaking the cables as the operator in holding down thecontrol rOd' 30 can throw the clutch in or out at will and can bring tohear more or less pressure locking the clutch. tightly or loosely as thecable is taken up and thus controlling the movement of the towersections at will. It will be observed that the worm gearing forum apowerful means for rotating the reels, so that the sections may bepositively forced dowmvardly in the manner do scribed, the pull wires 51acting, inv this instance, ascablcs for positively collapsing thesections and drawing each section di-- rectly into the next largersection.

Normally the clutch members 26 and 24* are held out of engagement bymeans of the spring 26, but may be brought into engage ment as stated bypulling down on the handle 30*. When the handle released, the springforces the clutch members apart.

he use of pneumatic means for elevating and lowering the to tverobviates the dang rs of sudden movement since the con.- trol valves canbe manipulated so as to raise or lower them as fast or as slowly asdesired, and as a whole the tower will positively extend and collapseregardless of any climatic conditions or on an angle or inclinedposition.

I claim 1. An extension tower or mast comprising a plurality oftelescopic sections, plun gers disposed within certain of said s ctions,each oi said plungers being provided with a spring-pressed valve fornormally cutting oil communication between adjacent sections, theplunger of one'sectipn being socured to and supporting the ad acentupper section, pneumatic means for ca'usingthe movement of said,plungers and the sections to which they are sccl'u'cd' whereby the mastmay be extended, cables secured to the uppermostsection, guide meansearned by the receiving the cable and means for positively winding inthe cable when the mast is being collapsed, said lastnamed meanscomprising clutch, a shaft,

a reel carried by the shaft for receiving the cable and a Worm gearingfor rotating the shaft by means of the said. clutch.

2. An extension tower or mast comprising a plurality of telescopicsections,

"-plungers disposed within certain of said whereby the mast may beextended, cables secured' to the uppermost section, guide.

means carried by the other sections for receiving the cable: and meansfor positively Win-ding in the cable when the mast is collapsed, saidlast-named means comprising a clutch,a shaft, a reel carried by theshaft for receiving the cable and a Wormgearing for rotating the clutchand the shaft.

' 3. An extension tower or mast coinprlsing a base having a threadedportion, a tower section screwed to said threaded portion, a cap forsaid towersection provided with a central opening and vent holes whichavoid the formation. of air cushions, a plunger for said section havin athreaded )ortion a second tower section. secured to said threadedportion and arranged to extend through the central opening in the cap. avalve seat carried by said plunger, avalve and spring means for holdingsaid valve normally tos'aid seat and n'lcans for adjusting the tensionof the spring.

4. An extension tower or mast comprising a base having a threadedportion, a tower section screwed tosaid threaded portion, a cap for saidtower sect-ion provided with a central opening and vent holes, 'aplunger for said section having a threaded portion, a second towersection secured to said threaded portion and arranged to extend throughthe central. openingin the cap, a

valve carried by said plunger, a valve andspring'nieans for holding saidvalve normally to said seat, means for adjusting the tension of thespring and a gasket carried by said cap and arranged to he engaged by aportion of said plunger, said cap and said gasket havinga series of ventopenings for permitting the escape of air between the sections.

5. An extension towe'fr or mast comprising a plurality of telescopicsections each section comprising a cylinder, a cap for certain of saidsections said cap having a central opening arranged to receive theadjacent section, a plunger disposed in; certain of said sections andbeing secured to the adjacent section, said plunger having a centrallydisposed valve seat,- a valve, a valve stem adjustably secured to saidvalve-and being provided with a head, a spring arranged to hear on aportion of the plunger at one end and upon said head at the other endand extensions carried by the plunger-and arranged to engage said headfor lin'iitingthe movement of the valve.

6. An extension tower or mast comprising a plurality of telescopicsections each section comprising a cylinder, acap for certain ol saidsections said cap having vent holes and a central opening arranged toreceive the adjacent section, 'a plunger disposed in certain of saidsections and being secured to the-adjacent section, said plunger havinga centrally disposed valve seat, a valve, a valve stem adjustablysecured to said valve and being provided with a head, a spring arrangedto bear on a portion of the plunger at one end and upon said head at theother end extensions carried by the plunger and arranged to engage saidhead for limiting the movement of the valve, meansfor admittingcompressed air or steam into the interior o'fthe section containing theplunger and means for withdrawing the air therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

rare 0. s'rEinL'r.

